22 Mar Only High Net Worth Individuals Need Financial Planners
This is indeed, a global myth, unless financial planning semantically means different things in different countries.
By fourth quarter of 2020, DOSM recorded 32.73 million population. Out of this population, monthly income threshold for:
• B40 group comprising 2.91 million households was RM4,849 and below
• M40 group comprising 2.91 million households was between RM4,850 to RM10,956
• T20 group comprising 1.46 million households was more than RM10,960.
• The national mean Poverty Line Income (PLI) value in accordance with DOSM 2019 methodology was RM2,208 per month.
With reference to the above, there is another layer of income group comprising of Emerging Affluence (EA) whereby the group household income ranges from RM8,000 to RM17,817 monthly (Stanchart Wealth Expectancy Report 2019).
Upon this income landscape, you would find interventions from the government and Corporate Social Responsibility arm of organisations. The lower income level of the M40 group would need to be financially-savvy to maintain, if not elevate themselves to the EA level income range, and beyond. Hence, it would be logical that the M40 group of population would benefit most from financial planning. This entails optimizing their cash flow to fulfil their essential financial needs and meet their key financial life goals.
So, what does the T20 or High Net Worth group really need? They would benefit most from wealth planning and management. How to preserve, grow and pass on their wealth and assets.
There are competent Bank Relationship Managers with financial planning credentials who are equipped with Wealth Management skills. Licensed financial planners are more holistic in approach, hence there are those who do financial and wealth planning as well as wealth management for their clients.
After determining which level of group you belong to, if you would like to explore the possibilities of working with a financial planner, do refer to our article on Differentiating between a Financial Planner and an Agent. If you feel the need to chat with one, head over to SmartFinance.my and talk to our experts. It is obligation-free, you only need to pay fee if you want to engage their services.
Generally high net worth individuals have the means to hire a slew of financial professionals to work for them. It is the middle-income group that would benefit most from the services of a financial planner to help them through the different economic cycles and avoid costly financial mistakes.
Linnet Lee
CFP Professional & IFP Certificant
No Comments